Abstract:

The objective of this thesis is to discover the structure and operations of value networks that are formed in the open source software field. To achieve this objective, the following research questions were used: 1) What kind of open source value networks exist? And how do they differ from each other? 2) What kinds of roles are there in open source networks and what kind of relationships are there between different participants? 3) How do companies operate in open source value networks? The questions emphasize company viewpoint to open source value networks, as in this thesis the network analysis is carried out from the company perspective, not so much of community perspective.

In theoretical part of the study, the concept of open source value network is examined, focusing on the literature about value creation in industrial networks and the open source environment. The main outcome of the theoretical part is the general model of creating and capturing value in open source network. This model is then used in the empirical part of the study to form the value networks of the case communities which are Eclipse and Debian. The research data for analyzing the case communities is gathered from different sources; the primary data includes a series of qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey. Based on the analysis of the theme interviews, the roles of the companies are identified and included in the networks. Finally, the comparative analysis of the value networks summarizes the empirical part.

Together with the developers of the communities the companies and the customers form an open source value network. The differences, for example, in values, norms and working methods affect the relationships between the participants and value creation in the networks. Together the participants set the requirements for the value they create together in a professional open source value network. Therefore, Eclipse can be considered to be mainly business-oriented whereas Debian is more of a hobby to the developers. The value network of Eclipse exemplifies the general open source value network model described in the theory section more precisely than the value network of Debian.

Companies that have functional and active relationships to open source communities have great possibilities to benefit from open source. Still, the contribution to the networks does not depend on the company’s size. The best ways to cooperate with communities, and therefore to create value with the communities, are through partnerships, by employing developers to the groups of core developers, and by interacting through the company’s own community.